Related items

• Burnley 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Wood at the double to sink relegated Clarets

  Nottingham Forest left nothing to chance as they overcame Burnley 2-1 to cap off a difficult Premier League campaign.

  Forest’s safety was not mathematically confirmed heading into the final day, even though it was never likely that Luton Town would manage to flip the goal difference in their favour.

  But 17th-placed Forest ensured they did their bit regardless against the already-relegated Clarets, with Chris Wood’s first-half double doing the damage at Turf Moor.

  Josh Cullen’s deflected attempt gave Burnley hope, but the visitors held firm to finish six points clear of the bottom three.

  Forest needed just 76 seconds to open the scoring – Anthony Elanga bursting down the right flank and sending a low cross into the six-yard box, where Wood was waiting to tap home.

  It was 2-0 just 12 minutes later, as Wood reacted sharply to turn in Ryan Yates’ shot.

  While the goal was initially disallowed for offside, that decision was overturned after a VAR review, with Wood having managed to keep himself the right side of the last man.

  Zeki Amdouni should have done better when teed up by Jacob Bruun Larsen, but the Swiss forward blazed over.

  Wood had the chance to complete his hat-trick two minutes into the second half, only to send a tame header straight at Arijanet Muric.

  Burnley’s goalkeeper was forced into a tougher save by Morgan Gibbs-White soon after, as he tipped over the playmaker’s dipping long-range strike.

  Wilson Odobert tried his luck from distance at the other end around the hour, with the winger’s effort skimming just wide of Matz Sels’ goal.

  Burnley’s luck changed in the 72nd minute – Cullen’s hopeful attempt diverting in off a defender, with Sels left helpless.

  There was to be no final-day comeback for the Clarets, though, as they prepare for life in the second tier.

  Wood haunts the Clarets

  Wood is Burnley’s highest-ever Premier League goalscorer, having netted 49 times for the Clarets between 2017 and 2022.

  However, with his opener, he became the fifth player to score a Premier League goal against Burnley having previously played for them in the competition, after Andre Gray, Danny Ings, Michael Keane and Patrick Bamford.

  That goal was brilliantly created by Elanga, who has now set up Wood for six goals this season – the most assists by one player for a single team-mate across the division.

  With his double, Wood will end the season with 14 goals in the league – his best return since 2019-20.

  Clarets head to the Championship with a whimper

  Burnley had hope when they strung together a decent run across March and April, yet Vincent Kompany’s team have ultimately come unstuck in the run-in.

  With relegation already confirmed, the pressure was off heading into Sunday’s game, but Burnley could not make the most of playing with that freedom.

  The hosts did at least get on the scoresheet thanks to that Cullen effort, meaning they scored for a sixth straight Premier League match – their longest such run since a streak of nine matches between March and May 2021. 

• Forest 'still have to finish the job' against Burnley, says Nuno

  Nuno Espirito Santo insists Nottingham Forest “still have to finish the job” of securing their Premier League safety when they face Burnley at Turf Moor.

  Three points clear of 18th-place Luton Town in 17th, Forest are all but safe from relegation, while it would take an unlikely 12-goal swing in the Hatters’ favour to usurp them.

  Nevertheless, Nuno is not taking anything for granted and has called for focus from his players, who he saluted for their efforts throughout the campaign. 

  "We still have to finish the job," he said. "But credit to the players because it was not an easy season. We have always been able to compete really well in games. 

  "The feeling is always that we should have been better. We have never felt that someone beat us; it was just that we let games get away from us.

  "Yes, in certain games we have been punished, but we have always been a team that wants to attack and score. That is part of our identity.

  "There is still a game to go, and we know how football can go. It is best that we prepare the same way with commitment. We are clear about everything that can happen. It is up to us to achieve what we want."

  Meanwhile, Burnley are preparing for life back in the Championship, with their immediate return secured after last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham.

  And Vincent Kompany says the match marks the first step towards the Clarets' recovery from their disappointment.

  "If we're treating this as the first game of next season, in terms of preparing for next season, then this game is an important game," he said.

  "You only really fail if you fail to learn and that's not the case for us. We've absolutely learned. There is no lack of motivation, no lack of desire. 

  "It's sometimes in human nature to sit down and sulk, to feel sorry for yourself. That is not in the culture here, it's not in my nature, the nature of many people here. 

  "We try to give that to the players – that's ultimately what is going to give them a chance to achieve their goals."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Burnley – Dara O'Shea

  O'Shea has been directly involved in two of the last three goals Burnley have scored at Turf Moor (one goal, one assist).

  The defender will look to build on that against a Forest side that has conceded 23 goals from set-pieces this season, with only three teams ever letting more in during a single Premier League campaign.

  Nottingham Forest – Chris Wood

  Wood is the highest scorer in Burnley’s Premier League history, having netted 49 times for the Clarets in the competition between 2017 and 2022.

  The striker will aim to become the fifth player to score a Premier League goal against Burnley having previously played for them in the division, after Andre Gray, Danny Ings, Michael Keane and Patrick Bamford.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  Forest are without a win in each of their last six league meetings with Burnley since a 2-0 victory in December 2012, with four of those ending in a draw.

  The Tricky Trees have failed to win their final league game in each of the last four seasons, since beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 in 2018-19.

  Meanwhile, Burnley have lost their final Premier League game in each of their last six campaigns at this level.

  The Clarets have also won only twice at home this season. Failure to win here would mean this is the fewest wins they have ever recorded in front of their fans in a single campaign.

  Kompany’s side will need to tighten up in order to avoid that, though, having conceded at least once in each of their last 19 Premier League matches.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Burnley: 35.9%
  Nottingham Forest: 34.8%
  Draw: 29.3%

• Toronto Maple Leafs name Craig Berube coach

  The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their new head coach on Friday, bringing a Stanley Cup champion to a franchise that holds the longest stretch without a title in NHL history.

  Berube, who guided the St. Louis Blues to their lone Stanley Cup title in 2018-19, comes aboard just over a week after the Maple Leafs fired Sheldon Keefe following a first-round exit in this year's play-offs.

  The 58-year-old Berube, a former Toronto player known for his hard-nosed and disciplined coaching approach, compiled a 206-132-44 record in six seasons with St. Louis. The Blues reached the play-offs in the first four of those seasons, but missed the post-season in 2022-23 and got off to a 13-14-1 start in 2023-24 before Berube was fired on Dec. 12.

  Berube did enjoy instant success after replacing Mike Yeo behind the Blues' bench in November 2018. St. Louis was near the bottom of the Western Conference at the time of the switch, but rebounded to make the post-season before winning three play-off series prior to defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

  He'll now take over a Toronto team that has won just one play-off series since 2006 and last hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1968, a 56-year drought that stands as the longest in NHL history.

  The Maple Leafs reached the play-offs in all five of their seasons under Keefe, but he won just one of six post-season series and was let go on May 9 after Toronto lost to the rival Bruins in seven games in this year's first round.

  "We had gotten to a place where just a new voice was needed," Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said in announcing Keefe's dismissal. "And that's the unfortunate part of this business. I do not believe that you turn coaches and you keep turning coaches. I don't think that is the recipe for success at all. I just felt at the end of the day, when I look at the totality of his time here, a change was required."

  Berube, who also spent two seasons as the Philadelphia Flyers' head coach from 2013-15, inherits a talented roster that produced the second-most goals in the NHL this season. Star centre Auston Matthews led the league with 69 goals, the highest individual total by any player in a season since Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux also had 69 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

  A rugged forward who spent 17 seasons as an NHL player with five teams, Berube has assembled a 281-190-72 overall record as a head coach and was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award honouring the league's top coach in 2018-19.

  Berube's hire leaves four teams - the New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets - still with coaching vacancies. The Buffalo Sabres (Lindy Ruff) and Ottawa Senators (Travis Green) previously hired new head coaches within the last month.